Spring break!

Ahh! Break is finally here! It is a much needed break, especially since my last two projects/papers for my two classes are due the Monday and Tuesday after it's done.

There are a lot of things going on in my classroom, but most of it cannot be published here. Maybe one day. Since this blog is not necessarily private and I feel it would not be professional of me to put it all out there, I'm going to take a while to think about exactly how to word what's going on that will not reflect anyone negatively. Let's just say I'm experiencing a really interesting experiment in my room that has had both positive and negative results. One negative is that I've ended up very frustrated and stressed at the end of the day. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, though. This has helped me grow as a teacher, helped me prepare for my administrative internship coming up in the next year or two and I've really bonded more with my students (seriously, I will actually miss them during this break. Not saying I don't miss teaching over breaks, but usually, I look forward to the breaks as time where I don't have to stress about grades, grading, plans and struggling students... this year is different).

I'm only teaching one of my three classes right now--English 9. We've just finished Act 2 of Romeo & Juliet, one of my favorite units to teach. The kids are actually enjoying it! We were a bit worried due to the make-up of the classroom: 20 boys and 5 girls, half of which have SPED accommodations and have struggles of all kinds with reading and writing. They're picking up on Shakespeare better than we expected--not that we had low expectations, we just weren't sure which way this class would go with the play.  We're keeping it simple as my co-teacher and I are still getting to know each other & want to make sure the students understand everything.
Speaking of my co-teacher... I love her. We are pretty much a perfect teaching team. She is hilarious and positive and we share the same philosophy--major plus! They're keeping us together next year because we work so well together with our baby freshmen. This makes me feel so much better about being out for maternity leave in the fall. Knowing that she will be there has eased a lot of the stress/anxiety I had over what will happen when I'm at home instead of the classroom.
My schedule next year is looking like it'll be pretty much the same: English 9 & 10. There will be (hopefully) three English 9 classes I will be responsible for--2 in the spring, 1 in the fall (smart choice, schedule makers!). The rest of my open teaching spots will be English 10 aaaaaaaaaand CREATIVE WRITING! Finally! The only way that won't happen is if there weren't enough students that signed up for it. Based on how many students told me they were signing up for it, I don't think that will happen. I'm guessing that creative writing will be in the spring (why introduce a new class when the teacher will miss 8 weeks of it, you know?), which means I'll have 1 English 9, 2 English 10 in the fall and 2 English 9 and 1 Creative Writing in the spring. I'm cool with that. :)

My classes this semester are just about done. Like I said earlier, only two major papers due. I still have to start the final product and get typing, but I know what I'm doing for both of them. I'm only taking one class this summer--one of the ones I was supposed to take first, but was never offered anywhere/anytime that worked for me, my job and schedule.  This summer, I've also volunteered to teach summer school again. The extra money is nice, it's an easy schedule, and I really enjoyed it last year--why not?

new things

I realized I haven't posted since December. I've been really busy. Here is a list of everything that is new:

• Student teacher is now full-time. She starts teaching Eng 9 next week and Eng 10 in about 2 weeks. Yikes! I'm hoping the full-on teaching experience will help her improve in the areas we've identified. Some of them need to be improved, otherwise... I will be put in an awkward position. She is getting more comfortable in the classroom, which is a step in the right direction. The whole thing has been an interesting experience, one I'm not yet sure if I would do again. 
• I am taking two grad classes this semester: School Law (interesting, but the classmates are... slightly irritating.) and Improving School Programs and Performance (this one has 4 people total and is a hybrid course--we only meet every other week, the other weeks are online discussions. We've had really great discussions and I LOVE the professor, she is absolutely fantastic!)
• New semester started. I miss my old English 9 and 10 classes, my new classes are definitely different and the ST and I have had a lot of conversations about how unique my first semester classes were in terms of motivation and skills. Our English 9 class is 20 boys, 5 girls. That's been interesting. They're warming up though. My two English 10 classes are very different, but fun in their own ways. I swear, something about the 4x4 schedule makes these kids act better in class. I haven't had as many behavioral problems this year as previous years. 
• There's a good chance I will be teaching creative writing next year! That's so exciting!
• I am pregnant. Due in mid-September. It is exciting and terrifying.
• My students are really cute when they find out that piece of news. My 10th grade classes both know (and their reactions were ADORABLE), my 9th grade class doesn't know as a whole (a few of them have figured it out or other kids told them). I announced it yesterday on my student facebook, mostly for my older students or students I don't see often. Since I'm already showing, students that know me have figured it out, but students that don't know me probably just think I'm a little chunky, haha! 
• Being due in mid-September is good. It'll give us the whole summer to prepare, to find a long-term sub, and I might even be able to meet my new classes at least once before going on leave

That's about it. This is a busy semester. Classes on Monday and Tuesday, Literary Magazine meetings on Wednesday, mentoring a student teacher and my own personal life changes... whew. I'll try to keep this updated, but who knows? I always forget because I find other things to do.